Silicosis victim's brother also suffering from deadly disease

The brother of a Queensland stonemason who died from silicosis has revealed he himself is suffering from the debilitating condition, as he promises to take up his brother’s mantle in raising awareness of the issue.

Anthony White passed away on Saturday at the age of 36 as a result of the debilitating lung condition.

His younger brother, Shane Parata, has now revealed he has been diagnosed with silicosis, having also worked for over a decade in the stone manufacturing industry.

Gold Coast stonemason Anthony White, who died from silicosis aged 36.

“I’ve always felt a bit guilty about it because I’m the one who got him into the trade in the first place,” Mr Parata said.

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Shane Parata says there is "anger" in the community of workers affected by the silicosis crisis.

“I ended up moving into more of a foreman role in the company we worked for, so I wasn’t exposed to as much dust as he was.

“They used to work us hard, we used to work almost double a 38-hour week most weeks because of demand, so when you say Anthony worked for 10 years, it’s more like he worked for 20.”

Mr Parata himself worked in the stone cutting industry for 15 years, but because of his lower levels of exposure he does not have as serious a case of silicosis as his brother had.

However he will have to deal with the related complications of silicosis for the rest of his life, with the condition considered irreversible.

Silicosis is caused by inhaling silica dust, with many manufactured stone products, such as kitchen and bathroom benchtops, containing up to 90 per cent crystalline silica.

Stonemasons who work for businesses that do not have appropriate safety measures can quickly be affected by the debilitating condition, which is often only treatable with a lung transplant.

Mr Parata said he had always admired the way his brother stood up for fellow stonemasons despite being bedridden for much of the past few years.

Anthony White suffered debilitating silicosis symptoms but insisted on standing up for more to be done about the issue.Credit:Shine Lawyers/Supplied

“I’ve got at least 30 mates who have been diagnosed with (silicosis) now, and that’s just my mates, not people I know in the industry,” he said.

“They’ve got to do something about this, how could they let this happen?”

Shine Lawyers' dust disease expert Roger Singh, who was representing Mr White before he died, said there needed to be a national approach to the issue.

“We urge that there be a co-ordinated approach led by the federal government to roll out a vigorous nationwide regulation of the stonemason industry,” Mr Singh said.

“What is astounding is that we all know the horrible legacy left by asbestos so it beggars belief that this product – engineered stone – which causes horrific diseases like silicosis has not been regulated in a way to prevent death and destruction of workers.”

Queensland Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace has put Queensland at the forefront of the silicosis issue, conducting an audit of all workplaces last year which found 98 workers had contracted silicosis, with 15 of those cases considered terminal.

"We owe it to all victims and families who are impacted by work-related deaths to do everything possible to prevent further tragedies and ensure that employers meet their obligations to provide safe workplaces."

The Queensland government is investigating eight businesses for systemic breaches of workplace rules regarding silica, following a statewide audit.

The government has also explicitly banned the practice of "dry-cutting" stone products, which generates excessive amounts of dust which is easily inhaled even with safety equipment.

Mr Parata said he would try to continue his brother’s work in advocating for more to be done to care for those workers affected and prevent any more falling victim to the disease, saying there was “a lot of anger” in the stonemason community.

“I just wish we had known how dangerous it was,” he said.

The COAG meeting of state and territory leaders in October announced it would consider starting a national lung dust disease register for workers.